This invention relates to the handling of bulk particulate materials and more particularly to a system and method for transporting a container of bulk particulate material from a first site to a second site for unloading.
In many industries utilizing bulk particulate materials such as powders, pellets, granules, grains and the like, such materials often are deposited in large bulk bags for storage and transportation purposes. When such bags are to be transported and/or unloaded into a vessel, conveyor line or a processing apparatus, they must be lifted, moved to the unloading site and then positioned on an unloading apparatus to permit the contents thereof to be discharged. In the prior art, various types of equipment and methods have been used to provide such handling. Typically, forklift trucks, hoists and other lifting equipment and combinations of such equipment have been used for lifting, transporting and positioning such bags for unloading the contents thereof. Such equipment and methods of lifting, transporting and unloading such bags have been found to be comparably cumbersome, inefficient and costly to operate. Therefore, the principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and system for lifting, transporting and unloading bags of bulk particulate materials, which is simple, efficient and economical.